ENT 3679 Innovation consultant work in practice

ENT 3679 Innovation consultant work in practice

Course code: 
ENT 3679
Department: 
Strategy and Entrepreneurship
Credits: 
7.5
Course coordinator: 
Nils-Otto Ørjasæter
Course name in Norwegian: 
Innovasjonskonsulent i praksis
Product category: 
Bachelor
Portfolio: 
Bachelor of Business Development and Entrepreneurship - Programme Courses
Semester: 
2023 Spring
Active status: 
Active
Level of study: 
Bachelor
Teaching language: 
Norwegian
Course type: 
One semester
Introduction

In this course, the students work with real innovation projects for early-phase start-ups. The lecturer quality assures the various cases and presents them online in advance of the semester. The course is organized as whole days and attendance is expected in all of these, as well as work between.

Students will form consulting teams of up to 5 students. Then they will choose two cases, create two offers with time estimation, clarify priorities and one or more key issues to be solved. After the lecturer has decided which teams are allowed to work on which start-up cases, the teams must sign a contract with the entrepreneurs and work on the start-up case between. It must be noted and kept an overview of hours used. The teams will answer the problem by gathering information and using relevant start-up theories and tools for economic, HR, management and organization, strategy and marketing issues. Students will transfer skills from teaching in, for example, accounting and marketing to a business idea. Therefore, it is also included to build models of the company in Excel where one creates scenarios for how the company changes operationally and economically at different strategic choices. A reasoned recommendation is expected in the final report.

Learning outcomes - Knowledge

Develop a consultant report with a recommendation to a real client. Students should understand:

  • The consultant role through performing a mission in controlled forms
  • The delivery of a consulting service, including both an offer a contract and an evaluation
  • Knowledge about the delivery process (the dialogue with the customer along the way, at the right time, part deliveries, changes)
Learning outcomes - Skills

After completed course students should be able to:

  • Be able to perform consulting assignments and business consulting for start-ups
  • Obtain critical information, interviews, secondary data as well as surveys as well as carry out relevant analyzes
  • Introduction and practical use of declarations of confidentiality (NDA), economic and business modeling, valuation and cash flow, reporting, customer meetings, team work, validation, margins, scaling, and performance ability, innovation process, stagegate model
  • Be able to use theory and tools from all the ENTREP bachelor-courses (Lean, design thinking, business modeling, canvas, growth methodology, economics modeling, market insight, valuation, distribution and strategies)
General Competence
  • The student shall acquire a respectful attitude towards entrepreneurs and the challenges they meet in the start-up process.
  • The students will develop a realistic attitude towards the challenges and opportunities within commercialization of a business idea and business plan and the role of innovation consultant and external advisor
  • The student will form a professional approach towards the entrepreneurial process
Course content
  • An offer for a contract
  • Negotiations
  • Contract clarification and agreement with the client
  • Process work with the client, innovator / case
  • Consultant report with recommendation
  • Timesheet
  • Individual reflection as a video
Teaching and learning activities

The course includes lectures, guest lectures and student participation related to real case and curricula. 

There may be local variations for implementation so the students are advised to follow the detailed course information from the institution. The recommended scheme is:
1. Start-up, kick-off, group formation and first offer
2. Allocation of entrepreneurial case, contract work
3. Status, guidance and consulting role
4. Status, supervision and visit of senior consultant
5. Last collection, guidance and submission

Students must attend all lectures in the process. Furthermore students must be prepared to do presentations in class. 

Students are expected to have access to a PC and be able to use standard software, as well as BI’s own information systems (e.g. Itslearning).

This is a course with continuous assessment (several exam components) and one final exam code. Each exam component is graded by using points on a scale from 0-100. The components will be weighted together according to the information in the course description in order to calculate the final letter grade for the examination code (course). Students who fail to participate in one/some/all exam elements will get a lower grade or may fail the course. You will find detailed information about the point system and the cut off points with reference to the letter grades when the course start.

At re-sit all exam components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course.

Software tools
No specified computer-based tools are required.
Additional information

Re-sit is offered at the next scheduled course. The course is taught intensively at the beginning of the semester. Students taking re-sit, must register at the beginning of January, to join the process.

Qualifications

Higher Education Entrance Qualification

Disclaimer

Deviations in teaching and exams may occur if external conditions or unforeseen events call for this.

Required prerequisite knowledge

The course is based on knowledge students are expected to have acquired during the previous semesters. In particular, students must have acquired knowledge equivalent to ENT 3501 Starting a venture and ENT 3503 Growth strategy for start-ups.

Assessments
Assessments
Exam category: 
Submission
Form of assessment: 
Written submission
Weight: 
75
Grouping: 
Group/Individual (1 - 5)
Duration: 
1 Semester(s)
Comment: 
Justified final report of up to 15 pages exclusive of attachments: the offer, the contract, an overview of informants, literature, total time consumption and a final report from the entrepreneur / start-up case. Templates are published at the beginning of the semester.
Exam code: 
ENT36791
Grading scale: 
Point scale leading to ECTS letter grade
Resit: 
All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course
Exam category: 
Submission
Form of assessment: 
Written submission
Weight: 
25
Grouping: 
Individual
Duration: 
1 Week(s)
Comment: 
Individual reflection note and individual time list, as appendix. Describe the learning and reflect on what you could have done differently. (2 - 3 pages ex appendix).
Exam code: 
ENT36791
Grading scale: 
Point scale leading to ECTS letter grade
Resit: 
All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course
Type of Assessment: 
Continuous assessment
Grading scale: 
ECTS
Total weight: 
100
Student workload
ActivityDurationComment
Teaching
10 Hour(s)
Student's own work with learning resources
61 Hour(s)
Work with the syllabus and preparations for lectures
Group work / Assignments
29 Hour(s)
Prepare presentations and participation
Submission(s)
100 Hour(s)
Work on the case, process and reconciliation along the way
Sum workload: 
200

A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 7,5 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of at least 200 hours.